Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automated call distribution (ACD). More particularly, the invention concerns an ACD call routing environment in which incoming calls are screened and assigned to available agents in a manner that treats all agents equitably.
2. Description of the Prior Art
ACD systems use automated procedures to assign incoming and outgoing calls to available call agents employed to handle the calls. Calls are typically placed in call queues to await handling by agents within groups of agents assigned to handle one or more of the call queues. The agents within the agent groups are usually queued in order to effectuate orderly call assignment. In the simplest call assignment arrangement, the oldest call in the one or more call queues served by an agent group is assigned to the most-idle agent in the agent queue, i.e., the agent at the head of the queue. This call assignment scheme seeks to achieve equity among agents, who are typically graded and compensated on the basis of call volume. Assigning calls to the longest waiting agent theoretically allows all agents to handle an equal number of calls such that the agents will spend an equal amount of time in a non-idle work state.
More recently, it has been observed that customer satisfaction can be improved if call agent skills are matched to the requirements of particular calls. For example, if a calling or called party speaks Spanish, the call should be assigned to a Spanish speaking agent rather than an agent who speaks only English. Various agent skill-matching algorithms have been proposed for improving call-to-agent skill matching. Typically, these skill-matching algorithms are implemented at the expense of agent equity. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,903 of Kohler et al. discloses a skill-matching algorithm wherein calls are assigned by searching across a split (i.e., a group) of available agents to identify an agent with the best skill match. According to this algorithm, the most idle agent will not receive the call if the agent""s skills do not match the requirements of the call being searched. A lower priority agent with a better skill match will be assigned the call, in which case the most idle agent must wait for another call in the call queue. U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,747 discloses another skill-matching algorithm wherein agents sharing the same skill are assigned skill levels that are used to position the agents in an agent queue associated with the shared skill. According to this algorithm, agents with the highest skill levels are given priority in the agent queue even though they may have handled more calls than the other agents.
A further disadvantage of prior art skill-matching algorithms is that agents with multiple or unique skills may be assigned calls that do not require more than normal skills. This has several consequences. First, assigning low level calls to uniquely-skilled agents may cause delay in the assignment of high level calls that must wait for another uniquely-skilled agent to become available. Second, the talents of the uniquely-skilled agents are underutilized. Third, the uniquely-skilled agents tend to win out over peers whose skills are less diverse. Consider, for example, a call center that receives both English language and Spanish language calls and in which some of the agents speak only English and others speak both English and Spanish. In accordance with conventional skill-matching algorithms, the bilingual agents would receive all of the Spanish language calls and some of the English language calls. English speaking agents would receive only English language calls. Statistically, the bilingual agents would tend to handle more calls then their English-speaking counterparts. Many of these calls (i.e., the English language calls) could be handled by English-only agents if the uniquely skilled agents were bypassed relative to such calls, but current skill matching algorithms do not operate in this manner; they assign calls whenever a minimum specified level of skill matching is found.
Accordingly, there is a need in an ACD system for an agent assignment scheme that provides agent skill matching, so as to enhance customer satisfaction, without sacrificing agent equity. Applicants submit that the principal problem of prior art skill-matching algorithms is that they tend to be call-centric and not agent-centric; i.e., they attempt to match calls to agents rather than agents to calls. What is therefore required, in Applicants"" view, is an alternative to the call-centric approach of the past. An agent-centric environment is needed in which emphasis is placed on assigning calls to the highest priority agents, albeit consistent with the agents"" skills. In addition, an ACD screening environment is required in which care is taken to protect agents with less diversified skills relative to multi-skilled agents who have the ability to field a wider array of calls, such that the less diversified agents are able to compete effectively for all calls that they are qualified to handle.
The foregoing problems are solved and an advance in the art is obtained by a novel ACD skill-based routing system and method. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, a group of call agents is established and one or more screening attributes are assigned to each call agent group member. A call agent queue is also established that ranks available call agent group members according to an idleness indicator. The call agent group is assigned to at least one call queue that ranks calls according to a priority indicator. Each call in the call queue(s) is associated with one or more call requirement attributes.
As part of call screening to assign a call to an agent, a comparison is made of the screening attribute(s) of the highest ranking call agent identified in the call agent queue with the call requirement attribute(s) of one or more calls in the call queue(s), beginning with the highest ranking call and descending through lower ranking calls, until a call having a call requirement attribute matching one of the highest ranking call agent""s screening attributes (call-to-agent match) is found. The call associated with the call-to-agent match is then assigned to the highest ranking call agent and the highest ranking call agent is removed from the call agent queue.
In the event that no call-to-agent match is found relative to the highest ranking call agent, the system can wait until a call arrives that does match the highest ranking agent. Preferably, however, the highest ranking agent is temporarily bypassed so that additional call-to-agent comparisons can be made relative to one or more subsequent call agents in the call agent queue until a call-to-agent match is found. At that point, the call associated with the call-to-agent match is assigned to the call agent associated with the call-to-agent match. The system may then return to the highest ranking call agent and re-perform call screening relative to that agent.
The idleness indicator can be based on a variety of criteria, such as the time that a call agent has been available to handle a call. The priority indicator can also be based on a variety of criteria, such as the time that a call has been waiting for handling (with or without Ratio Delay Queuing).
In some embodiments of the invention, the call agent group may be assigned to a single call queue and call screening may include considering calls in the call queue in accordance with their call queue ranking until a call-to-agent match is found. In other embodiments of the invention, the call agent group may be assigned to multiple call queues and call screening may include considering calls in the multiple call queues in accordance with their overall ranking relative to other calls in the multiple call queues until a call-to-agent match is found.
The call agent group members can have differing screening attributes. Some may have specialized screening attributes indicative of specialized skills in addition to a common set of non-specialized screening attributes indicative of non-specialized skills shared with other call agent group members. In that case, call screening may include waiting for a call with a matching specialized call requirement attribute before assigning the call to the highest ranking call agent. If no such call is found, the highest ranking call agent may then be assigned a call having a matching non-specialized call requirement attribute. In this way, high level calls are handled quickly, the agent""s unique skills are utilized effectively, and normally-skilled agents are not disadvantaged.